Spring curtain-roller



(No Model.)

B. I. HICKS.

SPRING CURTAIN ROLLER.

No. 250,244. Patented Nov. 29,1881.

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U ITED STATES PATENT mi -9 BENJAMIN I. HICKS, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.-

SPRING CURTAIN-ROLLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 250,244, dated November 29, 1881.

Application filed September 1, 1881.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, BENJAMIN I. HICKS, of

Brooklyn, in the county of Kings, and in the State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sprin g-Rollers for Window-Shades; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, makingapart of this specification.

This invention relates to im p rovemen ts which are applicable to spring-rollers for windowshades; audit consists in the combination, with r 5 a hollow roller inclosin g a helical spring, and a rod arranged eccentrically at one end of the roller, of a notched tenon and a spring-catch applied on the concentric end of the said rod, and an inside spurred cap, and also a slotted 2o bearing formed on one of the roller supporting brackets, all being so made and arranged that when the roller is removed from its brackets the inside helical spring will not be unwound; also, that the spring will sustain the curtain at any desired point, as will be hereinafter fully explained.

The following is a description of my invention, which, when taken in connection with the annexed drawings, will enable others skilled 0 in the art to understand it.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view with part of the roller broken away. Fig. 2 is a view of one end of the roller. Fig. 3 is a perspective detail of the same end 5 of the roller. Fig. 4 is a view of the plug in one end of the roller, and Fig. 5 shows the notched tenon and its spring-catch. Fig. 6 is a crosssection of the roller.

The letter A designates the cylindrical our- 0 tain-roller, which is made hollow to receive a helical spring, B, a rod, 0, and a plug, D. The plugD is rigidly secured in one end of the roller, and in its inner end a hole,a, is made eccentric to its longitudinal axis, to receive the end of 5 the rod 0, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. This plug D has a groove, 1), in its periphery for facilitating the attachment to the plug of one end of the helical spring B. The end of the rod 0 is free to turn in the hole a. The plug (No model.)

and its end of the roller are covered by a metal cap, 0, from the center of which projects a journal for supporting the roller in one of its brackets. At the opposite end of the roller a cap, E, is fixed to it and held in place by means of a ferrule, G. This cap E has a depression 5 in i ts end, surrounded by spurs d, equidistant] y arranged at suitable distances apart.

A hole, a, is made centrally through the cap E, through which passes freely the neck of a tenon, J, which is rigidly secured into the concentric end of the rod 0. The outer or exposed ten0n,J, is notched on opposite sides, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 5, and to this tenon a spring-eatch,g, is secured, the free end of which is adapted to spring out and engage with one or the other of the spurs d, thereby preventing the roller A or rod G from turning one on the other. The bracket K, which supports this teuoned end of the roller, is constructed with a slotted receptacle, h, the upper end of which is flaring, as shown in Fig. 2. When the tenon J is supported in this notched portion of the bracket, the sides of the slot receive the notches in the tenon and prevent the rod 0 from turning with theroller, but allow the roller A to turn on this rod. The spring-catch g is so formed relatively to the tenon J that when the latter is in its hearing it this catch will be compressed and held free from the spurs cl,- but instantly the tenon is removed from its bearing h the springcatch will engage the tenon, and, of course, the rod 0, with the spurs, and prevent the spring B, which is secured to rod 0 near-cap E, from unwinding. Now, the rod 0 being held stationary at one end and be- 85 ing free at the other end, (in plug D,) it has a rotary or eccentric motion, causing it to impinge against the inner parts of the spring B. The friction thereby caused is increased or diminished according as the shade may be moved up and down. In any case such friction is always sufficient to sustain the weight of the shade at any point, and this is the result desired. On the instant the handis applied to the curtain to move it, and its weight is relieved 5 from the spring B, this spring will coil up, carryiug the shade upward without any jarring noise or irregular motion. It will be observed that the few parts of which my roller attach- In testimony WhereofI affix my signature, in mo ment is composed are simple, cheap, and readpresence of two witnesses, this 20th day of ily put together. August, 1881.

Having described my invention, I claim The combination, in a curtain-roller, of the BENJ. I. HICKS. [L. s.] spring, the rod, the spurred cap, the notched tenon, the spring-cap, and the peculiarly-slot Witnesses: ted bearing h of the bracket-support, substaiv G. W. VAN DOLAH, tially as described. S. R. SCOTTRON. 

